Fruit Farming for Profit in California, 59 



prune variety, near togatlier, were selected. Some of 

 the fruit had fallen and was gathered in boxes, and 

 then the trees were shaken, the fruit cleaned of twigs 

 and leaves and placed in boxes to be weighed. The first 

 tree shaken yielded 812 pounds, but a considerable 

 amount was left on the tree. The next tree bore 984 

 pounds, and the third 1017. One large limb of the last 

 tree, heavily laden with fruit, had been taken away. 

 The total product of the three harvested amountel to 

 2813 pounds, and the average was 937'66 pounds. 

 With 64 trees to the acre this would give a yield of 

 60,910 pounds, or 30| tons. As 2*65 "pounds of fresh 

 prunes are required to make one pound dried, one acre 

 would produce 23,362 pounds ready for market, and at 

 11 cents per pound, the present selling price, the gross 

 value of the yield of a single acre would reach the 

 enormous sum of 82569.82; at 2i cents per pound on 

 the ground, for which they could be sold to-day, the 

 price of an acre's product would be §1522.75. In the 

 Briggs orchard there are 12 acres of prune trees of 

 different ages, and several experienced orchardists esti- 

 mate the average yield at 600 pounds per tree. There 

 are 64 trees to each acre, which would make 38,4C0 

 pounds to the acre, the value, which at 2\ cents per 

 pound on the ground — the price at which prunes are 

 now selling here — would be 8960 per acre, a net profit 

 (after allowing for every possible expense and loss) of 

 more than 8900 per acre. If dried at the orchard ami 

 sold, the value of the crop per acre would he 81593.90, 

 and for the twelve acres the enormous sum 0/ 819^126. 8'J 

 would he realized. 



